This work-in-progress lecture will discuss the major themes in two plays: Rock para una abuela virgen (1988) by the Venezuela playwright Rodolfo Santana and Los profesores (1958) by the Peruvian Juan Rivera Saavedra. Both of these works have enjoyed an unexpected resurgence in popularity in the last few years: Santana’s social farce was recently adapted to the silver screen garnering rave reviews, while Rivera Saavedra’s previously banned absurdist commentary on Peruvian academia was finally staged in Lima three years ago.